Vṛddha Kanyā Tīrtha

Vṛddha Kanyā (“old maiden”) Tīrtha is a tīrtha (sacred place) on the river Sarasvatī. It is named after the woman whom the ṛshi Kuṇirgarga created through tapas (austerity). She grew old in his āśrama (hermitage) while she waited for a worthy husband. In the end she took the saṃskāra (rite) of marriage with Śṛṅgavanta, the son of Gālava, in a single night. She then left her body for svarga. As she left, she blessed the tīrtha with a phalaśruti (a statement of its merit): those who stay here for a single night in devotion will gain the fruit of 58 years of brahmacarya. Bhagavān Balarāma bathed here during his pilgrimage along the Sarasvatī.

The woman who gave the tīrtha its name

The woman is known only as Vṛddha Kanyā. She performed great tapas here over many decades. After the one-night marriage that fulfilled the required saṃskāra, she left this world, and her departure made the place holy.

The Vṛddha Kanyā Upākhyāna

The Vṛddha Kanyā Upākhyāna, the account of her life, was told to Balarāma at this tīrtha.

Phalaśruti

Vṛddha Kanyā herself declared the merit of the place as she departed. One night’s stay at this tīrtha, with devotion, equals the fruit of 58 years of brahmacarya.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapters 51–52